12 minesweeping vessels from five different Baltic nations have successfully completed a series of manoeuvres along with US Navy USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) during the ongoing Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2011.

The vessels that participated in the exercise include LNS Jotvingis, LNS Suduvis, ORP Gardno, ORP Druzno, ORP Naklo, ENS Ugandi, FGS Bad Rappenau, HDNS Havkatten and LVNS Visvaldis.

The exercise included formation of a battle line, followed by an arrow, and an expanding star burst formation with participation from two manned drones from Havkatten.

USS Mount Whitney operations officer lieutenant commander Tiffany Hill said Mount Whitney served as a flagship and point of reference while the ships performed successfully in a multinational environment.

Participating nations included Latvia, Poland, Estonia, Germany, Denmark and Lithuania.

BALTOPS is a multinational naval exercise focused on maintaining peace and security in the region.